July 24 2016 Strong Families (Part One)

Ten Values That Build Strong Families - Part 1

"Never forget these commands that I am giving you. Teach these to your children..." Deut. 6:6-7a (GN)

I. THE FOUNDATION FOR A STRONG FAMILY

"You shall have no other gods before me" Ex 20:2

The Principle: PUT GOD FIRST

The Promise: SUCCESS IN LIFE

"In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success." Prov. 3:6 (LB)

II. HOW DO I PUT GOD FIRST?

Give God priority in 5 areas

F - Finances

"Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns... to

overflow..." Prov 3:9-10 (LB)

"The purpose of tithing is to teach you to put God first in your lives." Deut. 14:23 (LB)

I - Interest

"Whatever you do, do it all for God's glory." I Cor. 10:31 (GN)

"Talk with each other much about the Lord." Eph. 5:19 (LB)

R - Relationships

"...what a man is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses." Prov. 27:19 (LB)

S - Schedule

"Make the best use of your time ... grasp firmly what you know to be the will of the Lord."Eph. 5:16-17 (Ph)

"Very early in the morning ... Jesus got up and went off to a solitary place where he prayed." Mark 1:35

T - Trouble

"Call upon Me in your day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will honor Me." Ps. 50:15

Joshua's Commitment: "As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." Jos. 24:15 (LB)

November 1 2015 The Prayer Of Deliverance

THE PRAYER OF DELIVERANCE

Matthew 6:13 – And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

THREE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT TEMPTATION

1. First, remember that temptation is normal.

1 Corinthians 10:13 – Every temptation that comes your way is the kind that normally comes to people.  But, God keeps His promise, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist.  At the time you are tempted He will give you the strength to endure it and so provide you with a way out.

Example:  Joseph

2. Temptation is common.

Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.

3. Temptation improves our life.

James 1:2-4 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

John 4:4 – Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.

SIX STEPS TOWARD DELIVERANCE

1.    Identify my vulnerability. 

Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak.

*When am I most tempted?
*Where am I most tempted?
*Who is with me when I’m most tempted?
*What temporary benefit do I get if I give in?
*How do I feel before I’m tempted?

2. Refuse to let fear take over.

Three ways He works

Ephesians 6:10-11 – Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand against the devil’s scheme.

3. Quickly turn to God.

Psalm 50:15 – Call to Me when trouble comes, I will save you and you will praise Me.

Daniel

Joseph

Hebrews 4:15-16 – (Jesus) had the same temptations we do, though He never once gave way to them and sinned, so let us come boldly to God and find grace to help us in our time of need.

4. Intentionally refocus your mind.

James 1:14-15 – Temptation is the pull of your own evil thoughts and wishes.  These evil thoughts lead to evil actions.

Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts.

5. Enlist a partner.

Ecclesiastes 5:9-10 – Two are better than one, because together if one falls down, the other can help him up.  But if someone is alone and falls, there’s no one to help him.

James 5:16 – Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other, so that you may be healed.

6. Turn from the devil.

Ephesians 5:17 – Accept salvation from God to be your helmet and receive the Word of God to use as a sword.

Example of Jesus

YOU CAN HANDLE TEMPTATION

March 30 2014 Don't Waste Your Life

Don't Waste Your Life

Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)“Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

THREE BASIC QUESTIONS

1. WHAT DOES GOD WANT? MY WHOLE LIFE.

Romans 6:13 (NLT) “Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”

Deuteronomy 10:12 (NCV) “This is what the Lord your God wants you to do: Respect the Lord and do what he has told you to do. Love him. Serve the Lord your God with your whole being.”

Matthew 6:24 (NIV) "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Proverbs 3:6 (LB) “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” 

2. WHAT DOES IT TAKE? DISCIPLINE.

1 Timothy 4:7 (NASB) “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”

1 Timothy 4:7b (LB)“Spend your time and energy in the exercise of keeping spiritually fit.”

Hebrews 12:1b (NLT) “Let us strip off every weigh ts tihna tth salto swos e uas idlyo whnin, deesrpse ociuarl lpyr tohger ess.”

Luke 10:40-42 (NRSV) “Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; but there is need of only one thing and Mary has chosen the better part...”

Philippians 2:13 (TEV) “God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.”

3. WHY SHOULD I DO IT? THE CROSS.

2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV) “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Ephesians 1:7 (GW) “Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness.”

Romans 12:1 (GW) “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him.”

2 Corinthians 6:1 (Msg) “We beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us!”

Habakkuk 3:2 (NCV) “Lord, I have heard the news about you; I am amazed at what you have done. Lord, do great things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days.”

October 27 2013 Building A Life Of Intention

BUILDING A LIFE OF INTENTION

Ephesians 2:10 – God is our Maker, and in our union with Christ, He has created us for a life of good works, which He has already prepared for us to do.

Acts 13:36 – David served God’s purpose in his generation.

Acts 20:24 – (Paul) I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me, in order that I may complete my mission and finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do.

THE BENEFITS OF LIVING AN INTENTIONAL LIFE

1. It will reduce frustration.

James 1:6-7-A doubtful mind is unsettled as a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:8 – The double minded man can never keep a steady

Isaiah 49:4 – I’ve labored to no purpose. I’ve spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

2. It will increase my motivation.

Job 7:6, 17 – My life drags by, day after hopeless day, I’m tired of living, my life makes no sense.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Ephesians 3:20 – God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of.

3. It will allow greater concentration.

Philippians 3:13 – I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting what is behind and looking forward to what

Ephesians 5:15-17 – Pay close attention to how you live. Make good use of every opportunity you get, find out what the Lord wants you to do.

4. It will attract cooperation.

Ezra 10:14 – Tell us how to proceed in setting things straight, and we will fully cooperate.

5. It will prepare me for God’s evaluation.

Romans 14:10, 12 – We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

∙ Believe God has a purpose for my life.

Proverbs 16:4 – The Lord has made everything for His own purpose.

∙ Receive God’s Son into my life.

Ephesians 1:4-5 – Long ago, even before He made the world, God choose us to be His very own through what Christ would do for us, His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family be sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And He did this because He wanted to!

∙ Live in Christ each day.

Colossians 2:6 – So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him.

Acts 20:24 – Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus.

I Corinthians 6:20 – Use every part of your body to give glory to Him.

∙ Use your treasure in view of eternity.

I Timothy 6:18-19 – Use your money to do good, always being ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this you will be storing up real treasure for yourself in heaven.

Luke 16:9 – Use worldly wealth to make friends who will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

August 25 2013 Trusting God When You Need Guidance

TRUSTING GOD WHEN YOU NEED GUIDANCE

I.  Five Unreliable Sources Of Guidance

1.  Don’t rely on culture.
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Exodus 23:2 - Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.

2.  Don’t rely on circumstances.

Jonah 1:1-3 -The Word of the Lord came to Jonah…go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.

Acts 27

3.  Don’t always rely on counsel.

Psalm 1:1 - Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked or stands in the way of sinner or sits in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord.

4.  Don’t rely on the counterfeit.

II Cor. 11:14 - For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
I John 4:1 - Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

5.  Don’t always rely on conscience.

Prov. 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Psalm 119:105 - Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path.

II.  The Completely Reliable Source
·  God’s will is found in God’s Word.
·   God’s will never contradicts God’s Word.
·   God expects me to obey His Word before He shows me His specific will.

This Is God’s Will For Me

1.  That I have eternal life.

John 6:40 - My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life.

2.  That I be filled with the Spirit.

Eph. 5:17-18 - Understand what the Lord’s will is:  Do not get drunk with wine, instead be filled with the Spirit.

3.  That I live a pure, disciplined life.

I Thes. 4:3-4 - It is God’s will that you should be holy, that you should avoid sexual immorality, and learn to control your own body in a way that is holy.

4.  That I maintain an attitude of gratitude.

I Thes. 5:16-18 - Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you.

5.  That I be a law abiding citizen.

I Peter 2:13-16 - Submit your selves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men, for it is God’s will that by doing good, you silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

6.  That I bring others to Christ.

II Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that everyone comes to repentance.

7.  That I commit myself to God and others.

II Cor. 8:5 - They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to us in keeping with God’s will.